A Short History of General J. E. Johnston, from the Histories of Generals series (N114) issued by W. Duke, Sons & Co. to promote Honest Long Cut Smoking and Chewing Tobacco 1888

Editor: This is "A Short History of General J. E. Johnston," a promotional print made by W. Duke, Sons & Co. around 1888 for their tobacco products. The use of colour in both the general's portrait and the stylized images of war really stands out. As a study in contrasting registers and imagery, how do you approach this work? Curator: A fascinating object indeed. Immediately, I am struck by the compartmentalization of the pictorial plane. We see portraiture, symbolic battle imagery, and pure textual design elements forced together, creating a striking formal tension. The tension embodies the struggle for unity within the composition. Observe how the repeated reds are an attempt to find resolution, though, ultimately, these pictorial boxes retain autonomy and difference. Editor: So you're saying the artist wasn't necessarily aiming for a cohesive whole? Curator: Cohesion wasn't the explicit goal. The objective, I'd argue, hinges on jarring juxtapositions, on defamiliarizing images of war and honour. It compels the viewer to reconcile the man, the battle, the abstract design and the advertising into one thought, one momentary cognitive exercise of brand identification. Note, as well, that this commercial approach deliberately mirrors some basic conventions of Ukiyo-e woodblock print. Editor: So, it's less about the history of General Johnston and more about…the history of seeing? I definitely see how the form reflects function here. Curator: Precisely. Form echoes function, each visual element is poised in pictorial tension to amplify its communicative properties.